DMMI – Your Weekly Message from Kevin–May 1, 2020

Good Evening, DMMI Family,

Another week of progress is behind us and next week looks even better.  After many weeks of closely watching the pandemic spread, our efforts as a company, a community and a country are starting to produce a favorable trend. Today, I’m feeling tremendously appreciative and hopeful for our bright future.

APPRECIATING OUR COMMUNITY

 In addition to the healthcare professionals and first responders on the front lines of this crisis, I’m so thankful for thee essential workers keeping our country running. Mail carriers are keeping information flowing, waste management workers are eliminating trash buildup, grocery store workers are stocking shelves, and government leaders are making meaningful policy to protect our physical and financial health. I’ll admit, it feels strange for me to be thankful for politicians! But this time in history has made it clear how we all play an important role in the fight against this invisible enemy.

DENSO’S ESSENTIAL WORKERS

A shining example of DENSO Spirit during this time has been our respirator manufacturing team. This group of associates was hand-selected based on their proven skills in fast-paced assembly and teamwork. Now they are working daily to deliver this critical new product that protects healthcare workers.

We also have several groups whose core roles were already essential that continue to make me so proud to be a part of our team. This week, I heard about our Radiator Service Manufacturing team. This group of associates has worked Monday-Friday each week, and chosen to stay together in spite of the offer to rotate other people in. Instead, they have continued to deliver what our customer needs—crafting 176 different service models, adding up to over 2,000 cores. They’re showing outstanding DENSO Spirit through their dedicated service.

Our Safety, Health, Environmental & Security (SHE) teams also continue their essential work, often coming on-site to prepare for a return to mass manufacturing operations. They’ve created policies, systems and regulations to comply with customer, state, federal and DENSO regional requirements. Now, they are working to put those policies into action with new systems and processes, then stress-testing to prepare for larger scale operations to resume.

I could go on and on…. About our skilled trades experts installing work station dividers, service assembly experts at Hill-Brady Warehouse, production control planners and shipping teams ensuring flawless product distribution… Although we continue to have a small percentage of our population on campus, your great contributions seem impossible to count.

RETURN TO WORK PLANNING

Plans to return to our “new normal” are starting to take shape. The Detroit 3 (General Motors, Fiat-Chrysler and Ford) are planning for a slow restart beginning May 18. Honda and Toyota will also slowly ramp up production, targeting May 11 at some of their U.S. facilities that we produce for.

Working closely with government and customer partners, DENSO is also preparing a phased approach for our return to mass production. I can tell you that we won’t bring every associate back to campus on one day—we are working to define a gradual approach that is centered on associate safety.

I commit to you that we will share all of the information we can when it’s official. I ask you to continue to stay in touch with your direct supervisor, and keep seeking out daily company updates on the DENSO Mobile App or DENSO Online if you don’t have a work email address. We will have another Virtual Town Hall on Monday, May 11, and ask that you submit your questions here.

LEADING THROUGH CHANGE

 Through all of this, your DMMI leaders are also on a journey to True North—not the geographic destination… all business travel is on hold! True North is what we have named our shared set of DMMI leadership values.

Even before coronavirus changed our lives, we were preparing for a bold and exciting transformation to our industry, and our company. This drive for transformation led to the development of True North Values for DMMI leaders. Little did we know how fast our world would spin. Now we will use True North to Own Our Destination, Be Real, Deliver, and Love Our People as we navigate our now and plan for a bright future. I’ll share more soon about these values and how they will guide us to be the great leaders that our associates deserve.

SOAK UP THE SUN

There is sunshine in the forecast! One more reason to be thankful. I hope you have a great weekend and get to (safely) enjoy some time in the sun.

I am thankful for our DMMI family, and looking forward to seeing you (from a safe distance and behind my mask!) again soon.

Sincerely,

Kevin